Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Something new: Silent Hill 4
Silent Hill 4 is cool because it continues on with the incredibly creepy storyline that have scared the crap out of me since it first came out. It was only 10 bucks, so I felt compelled to by it even in my current dryspell of money-havingness. I havn't gotten to play to much yet due to finals and all, but I did start it up and wander around a bit. It's looking good so far.
Extra Credit
Steven Johnson coins the fraze the "sleeper curve" in his book Everything Bad is Good for You. The sleeper curve is the idea that we, as Americans, are getting smarter based on the advancement of our cultural activities. He states that the indroduction of these many new kinds of entertainment, communication and text (DVDs/video-games, text messaging, weblogging) are not hindering our advancement, but allowing us to accomplish more based on our craving for challenge and knowledge. I think this is a very interesting revelation. I've always noticed that those intune with our technological advancements are more knowledgable on a broader sence as opposed to a single person who studies souly in one particular area of expertice.
Just today, I was discussing my own theories of dimentional space, velosity and tragectory with a co-worker, but what do I know about physics? What do I know about math and airspeed, friction, objects in motion? Nothing. I know nothing about them. Yet I study them on a daily basis through activities which I have deemed as forms of entertainment. It's only a matter of time before curiosity gets the better of me and I have to find out the "why" something happens.
The one thing that I can see that the sleeper curve does not teach us is moderation, comprehension and reality. If our entertainment entrances us so much that we focus all our time and energy in to it, we need a way of knowing when to do something else, because our entertainment, no matter how intellectualy stimulating it may be, does not tell us not to view/do it. Like a siren's song, we focus, we solve, we enlighten, but we need to know how and when to stop. Many a joke has been made of the enthusiest who neglects personal hygien in his persuit of "enlightenment". The understanding of right and wrong is loosly handled in the entertainment world with few, if any, mentions to the consequences of the actions taken by our "real action heros". Granted the sleeper curve can influence our real life virtues and morals, but only if we let them. There still remains a big diference to the one who chooses to, at first attempt, solve their their problems with words and the one who intuitively feels the need to annialate any obstacle that doesn't agree or fit in with their own personal agenda.
Just today, I was discussing my own theories of dimentional space, velosity and tragectory with a co-worker, but what do I know about physics? What do I know about math and airspeed, friction, objects in motion? Nothing. I know nothing about them. Yet I study them on a daily basis through activities which I have deemed as forms of entertainment. It's only a matter of time before curiosity gets the better of me and I have to find out the "why" something happens.
The one thing that I can see that the sleeper curve does not teach us is moderation, comprehension and reality. If our entertainment entrances us so much that we focus all our time and energy in to it, we need a way of knowing when to do something else, because our entertainment, no matter how intellectualy stimulating it may be, does not tell us not to view/do it. Like a siren's song, we focus, we solve, we enlighten, but we need to know how and when to stop. Many a joke has been made of the enthusiest who neglects personal hygien in his persuit of "enlightenment". The understanding of right and wrong is loosly handled in the entertainment world with few, if any, mentions to the consequences of the actions taken by our "real action heros". Granted the sleeper curve can influence our real life virtues and morals, but only if we let them. There still remains a big diference to the one who chooses to, at first attempt, solve their their problems with words and the one who intuitively feels the need to annialate any obstacle that doesn't agree or fit in with their own personal agenda.
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